Transgenders Banned From Military

·       President Donald Trump sent a blow to the LGBT community last week when he tweeted: "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," Trump said in a series of tweets Wednesday morning. "Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." "Thank you," he added.

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·       Trump's decision came without a plan in place to implement it. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not have an answer on what would happen to active transgender military members but said the White House and the Defense Department would work together "as implementation takes place and is done so lawfully. "Sanders said transgender service "erodes military readiness and unit cohesion" citing health costs. She said the move was based on a "military decision" and is "not meant to be anything more than" that. Sanders said the decision was made based "on what was best for the military" and was made in council with the President's national security team.

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·       A 2016 Rand Corp. study commissioned by the Defense Department concluded that letting transgender people serve openly would have a "minimal impact" on readiness and health care costs, largely because there are so few in the military's 1.3 million-member force. The study put the number of transgender people in the military between 1,320 and 6,630. Gender-change surgery is rare in the general population, and the RAND study estimated the possibility of 30 to 140 new hormone treatments a year in the military, with 25 to 130 gender transition-related surgeries among active service members. The cost could range from $2.4 million and $8.4 million, an amount that would represent an "exceedingly small proportion" of total health care expenditures, the study found.

·       Trump's decision marks a setback for LGBT rights groups who have expressed concerns that the Trump administration could chip away at progress the community has seen in recent years on the backs of a series of landmark decisions in recent years that have included the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide and a repeal of the ban on gay people openly serving in the military.

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·       Trump's decision is also another setback for the transgender community following his decision several months ago to reverse an Obama administration policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. The announcement was immediately criticized by LGBT leaders and civil rights group.

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·       The American Civil Liberties Union called the decision "outrageous and desperate" and said it was exploring ways to fight the policy shift. "Let us be clear. This has been studied extensively, and the consensus is clear: There are no cost or military readiness drawbacks associated with allowing trans people to fight for their country. The President is trying to score cheap political points on the backs of military personnel who have put their lives on the line for their country," said Joshua Block, the senior staff attorney with the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Michigan, the vice chair of the congressional LGBT caucus, called Trump's decision a "slap in the face to the thousands of transgender Americans already serving in the military" and said it "undermines our military's readiness." "Anyone who is willing to put on the uniform of the United States and risk their life in service to our country should be celebrated as patriots, regardless of their gender identity. This short-sighted and discriminatory policy will make America less safe," said Kildee.

The President's decision flies in the face of his 2016 campaign rhetoric, when he said he would be a strong defender of the LGBT community -- and even claimed he would be a better president for LGBT Americans than his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

LGBT Fear Under The New Administration

The election of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence has set off panic in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities across the country, as people worry that their divisive campaign promises would come true.

Many questions have flooded the offices of LGBT advocacy groups nationwide. Will the President change the health system so that transgender people are not protected from discrimination? Will he appoint conservative judges to the US Supreme Court who could roll back marriage equality and other civil rights? Will Vice Present Pence’s long-ago support for so-called “conversion therapy” translate to a directive for LGBT youth?

Trump, Pence and the Republican Party’s anti-LGBT platform are a threat to the progress made during the Obama administration’s legacy. People in the community are scared. There is fear of an atmosphere of intolerance that was pre-viewed in Trump’s campaign.

The concerns that are most commonly heard by people in the LGBT community have to do with same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, bathroom bills, talk of conversion therapy for LGBT youth and whether or not we will be able to serve openly in the military.

Many same-sex couples are worried that their marriages could be invalidated in Trump’s America. Neither the President nor Congress can take away what the Supreme Court has deemed a “fundamental right,” leaving current marriages safe. While Trump does not have the right to unilaterally scrap marriage equality, he has the power to appoint Supreme Court justices who could. It would take a long time for the court to repeal marriage equality, and by then society will potentially change to a more supportive attitude.

In regard to same-sex adoption, gay and lesbian parents are worried that their parental rights could be in jeopardy, especially for the non-biological parent. Experts say that even though that person’s name is on the birth certificate it is best to adopt the child. States set adoption and parental rights policies, so that adoption ensures both parents have a legal tie, which could help in challenges to parental rights at the federal level.

North Carolina’s controversial HB 2, bathroom bill, has set the precedent for proposals to regulate bathroom access for transgender people across the country. HB 2 was redefined and passed this week and even though some of the things the transgender communities wanted were named, protection was not addressed and remains ambiguous. In 2016 there was an upswing in anti-trans legislation and it is anticipated that will continue to increase in 2017. Advocacy groups have been training across the country for more legislative battles.

Transgender students are at particular risk. The Obama administration’s recommendation to schools to treat transgender students in accordance with their gender identity was popular with advocacy groups and was criticized by conservatives. President Trump has said that transgender people should be protected under the law but rejected the use of federal law to do so, saying it should be left to the states.

Even though Obamacare is secure for the moment we are aware that President Trump will try again to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Of the 20 million Americans covered, about 5% are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The Affordable Care Act has a non-discrimination provision that includes gender identity and sexual orientation. It is especially meaningful for transgender people, who often face discrimination when they try to access gender-affirming health care. It remains to be seen how President Trump would take away the protections in Obamacare when his own health plan is brought up for a vote again.

At no point during the presidential campaign did Vice President talk about supporting conversion therapy, a widely discredited practice that claims to undo homosexuality. Pence’s record in his own state would indicate that he promotes conversion therapy. Because the practice has been widely rejected by mental health professionals and outlawed in some states, it’s hard to imagine that it could ever gain credibility or become law, even with the support of an elected official.

Another concern is about serving in the military. It is exceedingly unlikely that Pence’s opposition to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will reverse the decision to let gays and lesbians serve openly in the military. Transgender service began this year, too, signed off on by the chairs of each military branch. It is thought that regulations are not easy to undo and the military leadership of our country feels good about it and all of those people have skills and expertise that our military needs.

There has been surprising numbers of people who are overcoming their complicity and are getting involved at all levels of government to make their concerns be heard. If anything is going to affect our future we need to continue contacting our constituents to maintain protection for our community.

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Trumps Cabinet and Their LGBT Views

Of all Donald Trump’s cabinet and cabinet-level picks so far, not one has a history of standing up for LGBT rights.

When Trump nominated Jeff Sessions for the post of attorney general, you can pick almost any LGBT rights issue, and chances are Sessions has voted against it. He supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage; voted against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the definition of hate crimes; and voted against repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

He also co-sponsored a bill that would allow Alabama’s definition of marriage to supersede the federal definition, basically ending same-sex marriage in the state. And he’s co-sponsoring the First Amendment Defense Act, which would let government-funded organizations ignore laws that conflict with their religious beliefs. His score with the Human Rights Campaign is a zero.

Trump chose Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo to fill the post of CIA director around the same time he tapped Sessions. While serving in congress, Pompeo voted to protect anti-same-sex marriage opinions as free speech and also supported a bill saying a state’s definition of marriage should supersede the federal one. And during a 2014       interview with a Kansas State University radio station, Pompeo elaborated on his opinion of same-sex marriage. “I don’t agree with [same-sex marriage],” he said. “I think marriage ought to continue to be between one man and one woman.” He went on, “I think as you look back at civilization, look back at history, you find the strength of these families having a father and a mother is the ideal condition for childbearing. Doesn’t mean there aren’t great families with single parents, great young men and women raised without either parent. If you’re asking for what is ideal, I think it’s being raised by a man and a woman.”

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick for Education director, comes from a wealthy Michigan family with a long history of donating to anti-LGBT, pro-GOP causes.  DeVos and her husband — Dick DeVos — have “given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group whose founder called the battle against LGBT rights a ‘second civil war.’” DeVos’s late father and her husband’s family were also major donors to the Family Research Center (another conservative Christian group), and they reportedly donated thousands to efforts to block the legalization of same-sex marriage in states like Florida, Michigan, and California.

As a state representative for Georgia, Tom Price — Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary —- voted against prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation and in favor of defining marriage in the Constitution as between one man and one woman. He also has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign, and pro-LGBT advocates worry that, as secretary of Health, he could take away protections specifically for transgender Americans. Price is in favor of dismantling the Affordable Care Act, which bans sex discrimination — including discrimination against trans people — in health care. That means insurance providers are obligated to cover transition-related care, but with Price at the helm, that’s liable to change.

Price has also criticized protections for transgender students in public schools, saying a “federal restroom policy” is “yet another abuse and overreach of power by the Obama administration, and a clear invasion of privacy.”

Trump has named Elaine Chao to the post of Secretary of Transportation. Chao served as secretary of Labor for eight years under George W. Bush, and before that she worked as a deputy secretary of Transportation under Bush Sr. She has no voting record, so it’s tough to pin down where Chao stands on the issue of LGBT rights, but her family provides some clues. She’s married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who led opposition to LGBT rights in the upper house. Chao has campaigned heavily for her husband in the past, so it’s likely she shares at least some of his views on the issue.

Reince Priebus, Trump’s new chief of staff, doesn’t have a voting record either, but as chairman of the Republican Party, he spearheaded one of the most anti-LGBT platforms to date. Among other things, it calls for the repeal of same-sex marriage, gives states the right to choose which bathroom transgender people use, and defends businesses who deny service to LGBT Americans based on their religious beliefs. Priebus has also gone on the rocord saying that being raised by heterosexual parents is the “best scenario” for children.

Retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn has a history of  being against LGBT people. Most recently Flynn, whom Trump has named National Security Adviser, went on a tirade against “political correctness” in response to the Obama administration’s decision to allow transgender soldiers to serve openly in the military. “My God, war is not about bathrooms,” he said at the Republican National Convention. “War is not about political correctness or words that are meaningless. War is about winning.” Flynn appeared to contradict himself during an interview in July, saying, “On the gay issue, hey, you know what, if people love each other, Jesus, I mean, come on.” It’s unclear how or if his personal views will factor into the way he runs the military.

South Carolina governor Nikki Haley will serve as the ambassador to the United Nations, and although she drew fire from conservatives for referencing “modern families” in her response to Obama’s final State of the Union, she’s not exactly progressive when it comes to LGBT issues. In 2010 she said marriage is between “one man and one woman,” and three years later she backed her state’s ban on same-sex marriage. “The citizens of South Carolina spoke … they spoke something that I, too, believe, which is marriage should be between a man and a woman,”she said at the time. “I’m going to stand by the people of this state, stand by the Constitution, I’m going to support it and fight for it every step of the way.”

Democratic and Republican Platform Differences for LIGHT Community

There are stark differences between the 2016 Democratic and Republican platforms. The GOP platform has the most anti-LGBT language in history while the Democratic platform is the most progressive in the history of the Democratic Party.

The GOP platform has no mention of LGBT and mentions the terms gender identity, sexual orientation or equality three times. The Democratic platform has 24 mentions of those same terms and dedicates an entire section to addressing concerns of the LGBT Community. This year there are well over 600 Democrat delegates compared to just 6 out Republican delegates. From this comparison the contrast is obvious—the Democrats are more concerned with LGBT lives than the GOP.

The Democratic Platform

The 2016 Democratic platform applauds the marriage equality ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that “recognized the LGBT people – like other Americans – have the right to marry the person they love,” and acknowledges “there is still much work to be done.”

There is an entire section called “Guaranteeing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights,” where the party outlines all it wants to accomplish to ensure that LGBT lives are equal under the law. It talks about current LGBT topics likeddd LGBT youth being bullied in school, restaurants refusing service to trans men and women and same-sex couples at risk of being evicted from their homes. “That is unacceptable and must change. Democrats will fight for the continued development of sex discrimination laws to cover LGBT people,” the platform reads.

It goes on to say, “We support a progressive vision of religious freedom that respects pluralism and rejects the misuse of religion to discriminate. We will combat LGBT youth homelessness and improve school climates. We will support LGBT elders, ensure access to necessary health care, and protect LGBT people from violence—including ending the crisis of violence against transgender Americans.”

The platform addresses the upcoming 2020 Census and promises to equip the Census Bureau with resources to accurately represent LGBT lives as well as those who are persistently undercounted such as communities of color, immigrants, young children and those with disabilities.

The platform states that the party is proud of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and commits to “insuring fair treatment for LGBT veterans, including by proactively reviewing and upgrading discharge records for veterans who were discharged because of their sexual orientation.”

The Democratic Party believes that LGBT rights are human rights and should be reflected in American foreign policy. “We will continue to stand with LGBT people around the world, including fighting efforts by any nation to infringe on LGBT rights or ignore abuse.”

The Republican Platform

The GOP platform seeks to reverse the 2015 marriage equality SCOTUS ruling through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning the issue to the states. In addition, the GOP platform also objects the use of federal law to ensure trans people can use the bathroom consistent with their identity.” They support “ex-gay” conversion therapy and endorse the First Amendment Defense Act; a “religious freedom” bill that critics say enables anti-LGBT discrimination.

The platform discusses LGBT youth and access to safe schools, claiming that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is being used by bureaucrats and President Obama to impose a social and cultural revolution upon the American people by wrongly redefining sex discrimination to include sexual orientation or other categories.

Families are also a target in the GOP platform, and the platform stands firm on “traditional values” and states, “Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values.

The Republican Platform indicates a strong “no-change stance” while the Democratic Party is proud of and acknowledges their shift in focus. It is imperative for all LGBT people to get out to vote in the upcoming election so that hard-worked for policies are not revoked, putting us back!